October 2014 marks the centenary of Welsh author Dylan Thomas, known to an unusually wide audience for a poet, this despite his early death at age 39.
The town of Guilford will host three commemorative Dylan Thomas events, each sponsored by a different non-profit organization, in October and December. Guilford is known for its unique celebrations, such as our year-long 250th Town anniversary in 2011, so a few of us got the idea that if anyone was going to present this commemoration it would probably be our town.
We’re used to celebrations of native poets such as Frost and Dickinson, though it may seem unusual to be honoring a Welsh writer. But Dylan Thomas had a special connection to American audiences, through a series of reading tours in the final three years of his life. Thomas read at a number of New England colleges, including Bennington, and his masterpiece, the play Under Milk Wood , was premiered in New York City, where he died a few months later. Americans particularly knew Thomas through his recorded readings of his work.
On October 1 I’ll open the series with “Poems in October,” a talk with readings of Thomas’s poetry and prose, at Guilford Free Library. I’ll also provide comments on the play to be read later in the month.
On October 25, just two days before the poet’s 100th birthday, the long-dormant Packer Corners Players will give their first public reading of the play for voices, Under Milk Wood, on the stage at Broad Brook Grange in Guilford Center. The ensemble gave a private reading of the work in 1968, and on several occasions since. Three of the five original players are still in Guilford. Joining me from the 1968 reading will be Verandah Porche and Richard Wizansky; newer readers are Evelyn McLean and Todd Mandell.
On December 12 and 13. I’ll close the celebration by reading “A Child’s Christmas in Wales,” the strongly autobiographical story which has long been the best-known of Dylan Thomas’s works, as part of Friends of Music’s Christmas at Christ Church.
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Guilford Celebrates Dylan Thomas: Schedule at a Glance
October 1, Wednesday, 6:30 pm: “Poems in October” reading & talk by Don McLean. Guilford Free Library. Admission free. info: 802-257-4603
October 25, Saturday, 7:30 pm: Under Milk Wood, A Play for Voices. Packer Corners Players upstairs at Broad Brook Grange. Admission $10/seniors $5. Benefits Grange Building Fund info: 802-257-1961
December 12 & 13, Friday 8 pm/Saturday 4 pm: Friends of Music Christmas at Christ Church, includes reading of A Child’s Christmas in Wales. Donation. info: 802-254-3600 <fomag.org>
“Under Milk Wood” is presented by special arrangement with SAMUEL FRENCH, INC.
